On Freedom and the Will to Adorn

Although they have written in various genres, African American writers as notable and diverse as W. E. B. Du Bois, James Baldwin, and Alice Walker have done their most influential work in the essay form. The Souls of Black Folk, The Fire Next Time, and In Search of Our Mothers'' Gardens are landmarks in African American literary history. Many other writers, such as Ralph Ellison, Zora Neale Hursto...